PARAGRAPH AND WORDS, MEANING
Targetting Hardik
The butt of the attack was not Mr. Gandhi, but Hardik Patel. Commentators felt Mr. Gandhi was naïve to have emphasised the importance of personalities. As personalities go, Mr. Patel, Alpesh Thakor and Jignesh Mewani attracted attention. They were the toast of the press for playing out the dissatisfaction against development. But as results trickled in, there was a sense that all three were only personas, not people-centred politicians who built elaborate networks. They sounded like false echoes against Mr. Shah’s style. Two aspects were severely criticised. They were described as attention-grabbers, not vote-converters, openers without the finishing touch. Second, their timing was poor. One cannot instigate a battle a few months before elections and expect effective results. The election drama was no time for Twenty20 experts when aficionados of the five-day Test had already taken control. Time had become a disadvantage for the new trio. There was also a sense that the magic of development had remained durable for the urban voter. For the urban and semi-urban voter, the promise of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) held and worked. Even Surat, where demonetisation had devastated the economy, returned the BJP almost full house. Urban was the magic word for the BJP, while the Congress had to be content with its tribal, farm and youth following. Even here, it is clear that years of RSS work in the tribal areas might one day nibble away this constituency. The Congress, once a coral reef of coalitions, suddenly seemed even more vulnerable. For the commentators, the moral of the story was that while individuals create instant drama, they lack the epic pull of interests. Interest, not individuals and ideologues, is the gold standard of Gujarat politics. Anger and dissatisfaction might surface occasionally, but interest is the cement that guarantees votes. This, many admitted, was wisdom straight from Mr. Shah’s political handbook of elections. They added that when it comes to delivery, Mr. Modi is a believable Father Christmas while the electorate reads Mr. Gandhi as merely promising. His promise is only a hypothesis next to the formidable interest clusters Mr. Shah has built over the years. One also sensed that memory was a major factor. It was not anti-incumbency that was a major theme. On the contrary, most people could hardly remember the last time the Congress was in power. Mr. Gandhi and the Congress might be good at articulating Patel distress, but when push came to shove, they lacked the confidence as delivery boys of politics. Memory affected other perceptions. While Congress rode on the myth of poverty, BJP rule had seen a decline in overt poverty. Or to put it more sociologically, one realises that inequality had increased but poverty had declined. This was particularly true of the urban voter who loved “achhe din” while destitution was restricted to tribals and peasantry where the Congress campaign was more effective. The Congress, it was felt, had to rework itself to reclaim urban middle-class India.
Congress vs RSS
There was also a sense that Mr. Gandhi’s Congress and its campaign were considered superficial. It was not just their emphasis on personality or short-term scenarios, it was also that by emphasising individuals, the Congress had no sense of organisations, institutions of memory. It could not match the years of sustained work the RSS had put in, like the worker bees of election politics. The shakha could bury itself into a society for decades and wait for its efforts to work. The Congress lacked this sense of the politics of duration. The only sense of time it had was genealogical, but genealogies cut little ice in terms of organisational planning and history. Despite all this, one had to admit that the BJP goal of 150 of 182 seats was distant. Yet one also realises that 150 for Mr. Shah is not a number; it is a clarion call to battle which motivates his workers. If they fall a bit short they admit they came close to the impossible. If the miracle is occasionally achieved, the myth of the BJP’s invincibility becomes more resonant. One realises that the basic campaign the BJP is fighting — a mix of middle-class, development and a lovely veneer of Hindutva works for the party. The party has read the sociology right. The new urban voter is the darling of BJP posters. Even their sense of psychology appears immaculate. They realise that regimes produce moments of discontent, but discontentment as a phenomenon is fragile. It appears dramatically, but it takes hard work to convert discontentment to votes. The BJP realises that the Indian voter might be quick to react but he is slow to change. The BJP is better at local homework. A lot of this remains invisible to the media, but it is this that produces the stuff of electoral politics. Amit Shah can rest content that he is still the master of interests and everydayness. He is still the Machiavelli warding offCongress Boy Scouts. Yet, the BJP cannot afford to be complacent. It is still rolling as a juggernaut but at times the ride looks rickety and vulnerable. It senses, like other practitioners, that society is changing, that new configurations and interests are appearing, new dialects of politics are being born. The present is safe in its hands, but the future might prove the trickster it cannot defeat.
WORDS :-
16) Trickled
Meaning: Come or go slowly or gradually.
Example: “the first members of the congregation began to trickle in”
Synonyms: Slow, Gradual
Antonyms: Suddenly, Speed
Instigate
Meaning: Incite someone to do something, especially something bad.
Example: “instigating men to refuse allegiance to the civil powers”
Synonyms: Incite, Encourage
Antonyms: Dissuade
Aficionados
Meaning: A person who is very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about an activity, subject, or pastime.
Example: “a crossword aficionado”
Synonyms: Authority, Expert
Devastated
Meaning: Cause (someone) severe and overwhelming shock or grief.
Example: “she was devastated by the loss of Damian”
Synonyms: Shatter, Shock
Nibble away
Meaning: To slowly reduce something.
Example: Even when inflation is low, it nibbles away at people’s savings, reducing their value considerably over several years.
Synonyms: Drain, Shrink
Coalitions
Meaning: A temporary alliance for combined action, especially of political parties forming a government.
Example: “a coalition between Liberals and Conservatives”
Synonyms: Alliance, Union
Ideologues
Meaning: An adherent of an ideology, especially one who is uncompromising and dogmatic.
Example: “a right-wing ideologue”
Wisdom
Meaning: The quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgement; the quality of being wise.
Example: “listen to his words of wisdom”
Synonyms: Sagacity, Intelligence
Antonyms: Stupidity, Folly
Hypothesis
Meaning: A supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation.
Example: “his ‘steady state’ hypothesis of the origin of the universe”
Synonyms: Theory, Thesis
Formidable
Meaning: Inspiring fear or respect through being impressively large, powerful, intense, or capable.
Example: “a formidable opponent”
Synonyms: Forbidding, Daunting
Antonyms: Comforting, Weak
Incumbency
Meaning: The holding of an office or the period during which one is held.
Example: “during his incumbency he established an epidemic warning system”
When push came to shove
Meaning: When all the easy answers to a problem have not worked, and something else must be tried.
Example: Only a few people were there to help me when push came to shove.
Perceptions
Meaning: Intuitive understanding and insight; the way in which something is regarded, understood, or interpreted.
Example: “‘He wouldn’t have accepted,’ said my mother with unusual perception”
Synonyms: Insight, Clarity
Destitution
Meaning: Poverty so extreme that one lacks the means to provide for oneself.
Example: the family faced eviction and destitution”
Synonyms: Poverty, Insolvency
Antonyms: Wealth
Genealogical
Meaning: Relating to the study or tracing of lines of family descent.
Example: “genealogical research”
Invincibility
Meaning: The quality of being too powerful to be defeated or overcome.
Example: “he gave off an aura of invincibility”
Resonant
Meaning: (of sound) deep, clear, and continuing to sound or reverberate.
Example: “a full-throated and resonant guffaw”
Synonyms: Deep, Full
Antonyms: Faint, Weak
Veneer
Meaning: An attractive appearance that covers or disguises someone or something’s true nature or feelings.
Example: “her veneer of composure cracked a little”
Synonyms: Façade, Disguise
Immaculate
Meaning: Free from flaws or mistakes; perfect.
Example: “an immaculate safety record”
Synonyms: Spotless, Pure
Antonyms: Blameworthy
Discontentment
Meaning: Dissatisfaction with one’s circumstances; lack of contentment.
Example: “voters voiced discontent with both parties”
Synonyms: Dissatisfaction, Disaffection
Antonyms: Contentment, Satisfaction
Fragile
Meaning: (of an object) easily broken or damaged.
Example: “fragile items such as glass and china”
Synonyms: Breakable, Delicate
Antonyms: Robust
Warding off
Meaning: To prevent someone or something unpleasant from harming or coming close to you.
Example: In the winter I take vitamin C to ward off colds.
Synonyms: Beat, Counterattack
Complacent
Meaning: Showing smug or uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one’s achievements.
Example: “you can’t afford to be complacent about security”
Synonyms: Smug, Self-satisfied
Antonyms: Dissatisfied, Humble
Juggernaut
Meaning: A huge, powerful, and overwhelming force.
Example: “the juggernaut of public expenditure”
Trickster
Meaning: A person who cheats or deceives people.
Example: A confidence trickster.
Synonyms: Cheat, Fraud
